Elisabeth Young of ElisaAnne Calligraphy helped me out a lot with photos for this blog post — I want to extend a huge thanks to her!

If you’re a lefty, you are already aware that you’re in the minority. That has, unfortunately, probably led to frustration in your left-handed calligraphy learning endeavors. Hopeless as it may seem, I promise you that anyone — right- or left-handed — can create calligraphy! For this blog post, I decided to go to the source, and I asked south paw newsletter subscribers about their experiences with writing left-handed calligraphy. I received quite a few responses discussing issues and struggles when writing, tips and tricks for improving lettering, plus some examples of work. This blog post is a compilation of the most important takeaways.

I first picked up a dip pen in 2005. At that time, it seemed to be best suited to making squiggles because it was tough to write letters with! Fast forward a few years, though, and I saw other people using these mysterious instruments to create modern calligraphy. Flowy alphabets with a beautiful contrast abounded, and I wanted to know how to do that myself!Continue reading…

After months of work, I am so proud — and a little nervous and excited — to announce that the TPK Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course is live! You can find it by clicking here. In this post, I want to take you through what the course is, what prompted me to create it, and what to expect next.Continue reading…

If you’ve been reading TPK for at least the past few months, then you know that I occasionally teach calligraphy workshops. The workshops are, without question, the highlights of my year! The feeling of helping learners to “click” with key calligraphy concepts and build a strong foundation is incredibly rewarding.Continue reading…

Calligraphy is everywhere nowadays: social media, food labels, and events all indulge in beautiful dip pen lettering. It’s hard not to look at gorgeously-penned script and wonder: “Could I do that? Would I be good at it? Would I like it?” The free “Am I Into Calligraphy?” printable worksheet will help you to determine just that!Continue reading…

Preparing for calligraphy workshops makes me so happy! I love writing out participant place cards, arranging little bouquets of flowers, and coming up with curriculum tweaks. On the day of, I arrive early at The Riverside and set up the room to make it comfortable and beautiful. If you are relaxed and in a pleasing environment, I believe that it’s easier to tap into your creativity!Continue reading…

Last weekend, two cool things happened here in Boulder, Colorado. The first was literally cool: Saturday was a chilly day — in the midst of a slew of warm days — filled to the brim with snow. The second cool thing involved an amazing group of people who braved the snow to come to downtown Boulder to learn calligraphy. I couldn’t have had a better time getting to teach learners at the two TPK beginner calligraphy workshops last Saturday, and I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated!Continue reading…

My name is Elisabeth, and I’m writing this post to help you learn more about left-handed calligraphy. I have loved playing with different hand-written fonts ever since I was very young. As a result, I constantly changed my handwriting throughout my childhood, and I doodled nonstop in my notebooks. I was fascinated with the precision and execution of handwriting. At one point, my great-aunt purchased me a calligraphy kit for Italic hand (which uses a broad-edge nib). I immediately tried the kit when I received it; to my dismay, all I could manage were a few chicken scratches of ink. No matter what I tried, or how I maneuvered my hand, I couldn’t get anything written.Continue reading…

In the second half of last year, I traveled extensively to teach modern calligraphy workshops. From September through December, I went to Portland, Berkeley, Brooklyn, and Tampa — and I enjoyed every second of it! It was amazing to help people in different parts of the US have “aha!” moments when it came to calligraphy. I also loved how men and women of all different ages participated, encouraging each other as class progressed.Continue reading…

When I decided that I wanted to learn calligraphy back in 2012, I went to the local art supply store and purchased a Speedball calligraphy pen/nib kit and some black ink. I came home full of hope, but my ambitions were crushed by paper that caused the ink to bleed and nibs that I just couldn’t get the hang of. It was hard to convince myself to keep going after that experience; I thought I just wasn’t cut out for calligraphy. Eventually, though, I found the right materials through trial and error, and things got better! That’s why I’m providing you with this list: I want you to skip the pre-made kits, and assemble your own — much, much better — DIY modern calligraphy starter kit. You’ll be glad that you did!Continue reading…

Welcome to The Postman’s Knock

I'm Lindsey Bugbee

designer + illustrator + calligrapher

The Postman's Knock is a blog focused on teaching creative techniques and offering guides to learning modern calligraphy and illustration. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it!